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Filip Hallander Update: No One ‘More Motivated’
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- Filip Hallander Update: No One ‘More Motivated’
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Pittsburgh Penguins' crowded dressing room figures to add one more player with an NHL contract by the start of training camp next month. After a summer of work, Filip Hallander is on track to rejoin the team.
Hallander, 26, spoke with Swedish reporter Andreas Larsson of Hockey Sverige late last week, both confirming his positive status for the upcoming season but also admitting the difficulty of last season.
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*You can read the original story from Hockey Sverige here .
The Penguins forward had a promising start to the 2025-26 season when he rejoined the organization after a couple of years in his native Sweden, including a career breakout in 2024-2025 when Hallander scored 53 points in 51 games with Timra IK.
Last fall, Hallander had a strong camp and cracked the NHL lineup. He played 13 games with four points (1-3-4), largely in fourth-line duty. He had played just three career NHL games prior to that point; the last two were in 2022-23. However, a blood clot issue forced him onto injured reserve.
In February, Hallander was sent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment, but he played only three games and did not return for the remainder of the season.
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The issues were even more serious than initially thought, and he missed the rest of the season after doctors also discovered a lung issue.
"I played a few games and had some problems. Then we did new tests as a precaution," Hallander told the Swedish outlet. "Then there were some values that weren't quite right, and they wanted to play it safe. So I went back to Pittsburgh and did some more tests, and then we found something in the lung."
Understandably, the revelation scared Hallander, who admitted he worried that his hockey career could be over. However, Hallander has kept working and is now in the process of a hard month of training before coming to camp.
When he arrives in Pittsburgh, he will undergo one more test because he's been off the initially prescribed medication. Then Hallander expects to earn an NHL job despite the crowded roster. He is not waiver-exempt, which means he will become the 15th forward on an NHL contract in camp, and 16th if you count 19-year-old Ben Kindel.
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"I have one last test when I get there because I haven't taken medicine in a while. Then everything should be calm," he said. "Then there's a month of hard training before camp starts. My goal is to take a place and be a supporting player. After everything I've been through last year, I have a hard time seeing anyone who is more motivated than me to step out on the ice."
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